Václav Havel

Václav Havel was a Czech writer, philosopher, dissident, and statesman. From 1989 to 1992, he served as the first democratically elected president of Czechoslovakia in 41 years. He then served as the first president of the Czech Republic after the Czech-Slovak split. Within Czech literature, he is known for his plays, essays, and memoirs. His educational opportunities limited by his bourgeois background, Havel first rose to prominence within the Prague theater world as a playwright. Havel used the absurdist style in works such as The Garden Party and The Memorandum to critique communism. After participating in Prague Spring and being blacklisted after the invasion of ... more on Wikipedia